UFC Glendale Preview and Predictions
UFC Glendale will take place tomorrow night, and the UFC has booked an absolute war in the main event. Justin Gaethje has only had two fights in the UFC. Both of those fights were fight of the year candidates in 2017. Every time Justin Gaethje steps into the octagon you know you’re in for a high paced brawl. His opponent is very entertaining Dustin Poirier. Poirier is a well rounded mixed martial artist, but isn’t scared to stand up and trade. In the co-main event UFC veteran Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit, will be taking on Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira in a 3 round fight. Now it’s time to make my predictions for the big fights on this card.
Gaethje vs Poirier: This has fight of the year candidate written all over it. Justin Gaethje only knows how to fight one way, and that’s putting pressure on his opponent and throwing hay makers. Dustin Poirier has no problem when it comes to standing up and trading punches. This is going to be a back and forth fight and can honestly go either way. I think Poirier has the advantage on the ground, but Justin Gaethje has excellent take down defense. One of the knocks on Poirier has been his chin. We’ve seen Poirier get cracked on the chin and finished before. Justin Gaethje is much harder to finish; you’re not going to TKO Gaethje to win. The only way to beat Justin Gaethje is by separating him from consciousness, because there’s no quit in him. One of the biggest weapons Justin Gaethje has are his leg kicks. If Poirier doesn’t check any of Gaethje’s leg kicks, it could be costly for Poirier. I think after his last fight Gaethje won’t be as flatfooted, and will do a better job protecting his body. I think this is going to be an excellent fight, and definitely a fight you don’t want to miss. My official prediction for this one is Gaethje winning by 3rd round KO. I think Gaethje’s leg kicks are going to be a big factor in this fight, as well as his constant pressure. A win in this fight will put the winner one step closer to a title shot.
Oliveira vs Condit: This is an interesting fight because it seems like it’s do or die for Condit. He hasn’t looked like himself in his last couple fights. Condit use to be an absolute machine in the welterweight division but seems to have lost his passion. Oliveira is always entertaining to watch, and a veteran in the UFC. This fight is a big one for Alex Oliveira. If he beats Condit he can start trying to break into the top ten of the UFC’s welterweight division. I give Oliveira the edge in this one. Even though he’s coming into this fight on short notice I think he’ll be the aggressor in this fight. Carlos Condit just doesn’t seem to have the same edge anymore. My prediction for this fight is Alex Oliveira winning via decision.
Adesanya vs Vettori: These are two up and comers in the UFC’s middleweight division. Marvin Vetori has a good ground game but said he wants to test his stand up against Adesanya. If Vettori does try to stand with Adesanya I think it’ll be a mistake. Adesanya has outstanding stand up. Adesanya looks like he’s going to be the next big thing in the UFC’s Middleweight division. I think he’ll try to make a huge impact tomorrow night and get a quick finish. My official prediction for this one is Israel Adesanya winning via 2nd round TKO.
Stephen Caloggero (@stevie_calo)